Crotchety Old Man Calls Wiki:Policy
These are the current rules and guidelines for editing the Crotchety Old Man Calls Wiki. These rules can be updated/subject to change as time goes on based on administrative consensus. (Under Construction) * NOTE: Since as of 5/25/2016 there are very few users let alone administrators/"admins" present, I'll be writing these rules as best I can. Anyone is welcome to apply for so-called "adminship" to help suggest changes to the rules, but follow the rules for applying for power as they shall be laid out below under the aptly titled "Applying for Administrator Privileges". Current Rules Effective As Of September 26th, 2016. Profanity Profanity is allowed on the Wiki, as the prank calls contain various instances of uncensored profanity. However, racial slurs and the like are strictly prohibited from being used in the talk pages or on chat in any way. Harassment Harassment isn't tolerated here. Harassment includes things such as but not limited to: * Abusive remarks * Death threats * Cyberbullying/trolling * Racist remarks * Sexist remarks * Sexual harassment If you are being harassed, report it to an administrator, chat moderator, or whomever depending on what the case is. Note that there is a fine line between "joking" and "harassing". Explicit Content Mentions of sex-related content in the prank calls are allowed as several calls contain references to having sex and things used in sex. However, explicit content not related to the calls/posted among users is strictly prohibited. Explicit content includes things such as but not limited to: * Pornography * Sexual roleplays * Links to sites of pornographic nature Tolerance for posting explicit content is, in accordance with the strict prohibition thereof, very low. If any of this is sighted on either chat or mainspace/userspace, only one warning shall be issued before a temporary ban will be issued. If a great excess is posted by one user, they will be banned immediately for blatant abuse of policy. Vandalism Vandalism is the nonconstructive addition/removal of content to a page. This can include removing all of the content of a page and replacing it with something, be it an obscenity or a random statement, or making slight modifications to a sentence. Anyone caught participating in vandalism will be given warnings and then banned based on the guidlines seen below. Vandals may also be reported. Underage Users This is a Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) compliant wiki. As such, any user ages 12 years and under is prohibited from joining the wiki until they have become 13 years of age. Any user found to be underage will be first given a warning to leave, and then banned if failure to comply occurs. More on COPPA may be read here under the Federal Trade Commission's COPPA FAQ. Guidelines for Administrators Whenever settling a dispute, please try to handle it in a reasonable manner; listen to both sides of the story in an impartial, unbiased manner, and then make a decision based on what you've heard. If the users involve continue to get into it, either all of them or just one, begin issuing warnings based on the kick/ban guidelines below. Administrators and chat moderators who observe harassment or are dealing with a problematic user should act according to these rules: #Wikia Mainspace: Issue a warning. Every user is allotted three warnings. Failure to heed the third warning will result in a ban. Ban length can vary based on severity of the offense. Obvious trolls will be permabanned on sight. #Chat: Follow the warning guidelines above, albeit utilizing kicks. For a user on chat, after the third warning is issued, the user will be kicked. Three kicks equals a two-hour ban. If the user continues to cause trouble, then the second ban will be longer than the last, possibly permanent. Obvious trolls will again be permabanned on sight. Any user who has been banned from chat can appeal to an administrator via talk pages. Any problematic administrators or chat moderators abusing power should be reported to a bureaucrat. Any problematic bureaucrats should be reported to Wikia Staff at Community Central. Applying for Higher User Rights Privileges Any user may apply for privileges such as admin or wiki moderator; all positions offered and what each entails can be read on Community Central's User Rights Help Page. However, said rights will not be given to users freely. Before applying, please consider if you are ready to take on the task of helping run the wiki. * Are you responsible enough to do so? * Are you a diligent worker? * Can you follow all of the rules? * Can you be impartial, calm and/or level-headed enough to handle anything from a simple dispute to a major crisis if the occasion arises? Here is the process as follows: #Anyone wishing to apply for either a position as a moderator (chat, content, or discussion) or rollback may ask an admin or bureaucrat. Anyone wishing to apply for a position as an admin may ask a bureaucrat. Well-seasoned admins may be chosen to be bureaucrats (refer to #5 for more). #An interview will take place to see if the user is fit to be an admin/mod, partly based on the questionnaire listed above. If the user doesn't qualify, they will be denied administrator/moderator privileges. Bargains/bribes will not be accepted, so don't even try. #All new mods and admins will be given a trial period lasting almost a month (approx. 30 days). During this period, they will be under probation by senior admins and bureaucrats and held under a demerit system. A new demerit will be issued every time the admin/mod violates any of the rules/policies listed above, and with each new demerit, the likelihood of keeping higher user rights will decrease by 10% each time (i.e. like a weighted grade card). #If a user has passed their trial period with little to no demerits, they will keep their rights and be taken off probation; close to nine to demerits will result in them being demoted. If a user has ten demerits, they will be demoted and the trial period will be terminated prematurely. #Admins who have been a part of the wiki for an extended period of time may qualify for bureaucracy if they are deemed mature/responsible enough. There is no trial/probation period for new bureaucrats for this reason. Please do not ask for bureaucracy, as it is not given out on the same basis as applying for adminship/modship. Regarding confirmed admins and mods who violate policy, they shall be placed back on the probation period to be watched over; the rules for the demerit system will reapply.